


Insomnia

by Cdelphiki



Series: Whumptober 2018 [3]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Red Robin (Comics), Robin: Son of Batman (Comics)
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Bat Family, Brotherly Bonding, Fluff, Gen, Insomnia, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Whumptober 2018, because I suck at writing prompts, kind of, not really whump though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-07-14 05:51:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16034303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cdelphiki/pseuds/Cdelphiki
Summary: Damian can't get back to sleep after another nightmare.  Assuming everyone is asleep, he takes to wandering the manor, but he finds his least favorite person is also having trouble sleeping.Whumptober 2018Day 3: Insomnia





	Insomnia

Damian stared up at the ceiling. In the pitch black of his bedroom, his eyes kept seeing movement above him. It was entertaining, if barely. A little unsettling.

It was 3am and he’d already been asleep that night, just to be woken by nightmares. It was stupid. Nightmares.

Damian knew logically they couldn’t harm him. He was aware they were just fear induced visions, or memories, actually.

No matter how much they persisted, he knew they weren’t real.

Not anymore.

But that still didn’t help him sleep.

He wanted more than anything for Grayson to ‘check on him’ and come sit with him for a bit. _That_ was childish. It wouldn’t happen, anyway, because the man lived in Bludhaven.

Father could be bothered, he supposed, but the mere thought of waking his father over nightmares filled him with anxiety. The man would assume him weak. Damian should be able to handle _nightmares._ He was not a child.

With a sigh, Damian got up and turned on his lamp. He couldn’t lie there anymore. He needed to move around. Find something to occupy his mind.

Tugging his blanket with him, Damian made his way to the door, then reconsidered. What if Father saw him wandering around the Manor wrapped up in a blanket?

A hoody would be just as comfortable and far less embarrassing to be caught in. Damian dropped the blanket on the floor and pulled out the largest hoody he owned to slip on. If it was technically Grayson’s hoody, who cared? Maybe he shouldn’t have left it out for Damian to find.

Damian pulled his hood up and shoved his hands in the pocket to begin trudging down the halls. Everyone should have been asleep at that point. Father would have been home for an hour or so, and Pennyworth likely corralled him off to bed fairly quickly. Drake retired for the night at the same time as Damian, so he should be hours asleep.

That’s why it was strange to hear the faint sounds of… something crackly coming from the cozy den on the second floor. The room had a real name that Pennyworth used, but everyone else called it the cozy den due to its smaller size. The room was just big enough for a couch and a couple arm chairs and a television mounted on the wall. It was a very comfortable place to escape from the rest of the ‘family,’ when such a thing was desired.

As Damian drew closer to the den, he could make out the sound of explosions being played over older sounding speakers. The noise crackled a bit at the louder points and Damian grimaced at the sound.

The door to the room swung open soundlessly, but the occupant noticed him immediately. Mostly because Drake was lying on the couch, his head facing the door and the television at the same time. The teen rolled his eyes at Damian and turned back to his movie.

“Drake,” Damian greeted coldly, “what are you doing?”

With another roll of his eyes, Drake snuggled down further into the couch, pulling his blanket up to his chin. “What does it look like I’m doing?” he eventually said, not even looking over at Damian.

“Tt,” Damian huffed as he entered the room and approached the nearest armchair, “Why are you watching a poor-quality, dated film at three in the morning?”

Tim let out a long breath, clearly trying to express his annoyance at the child before answering, “Couldn’t sleep.”

Damian nodded and sat down in the armchair, chewing at the side of his mouth. He wasn’t even sure why he was sticking around. He should have kept going toward the kitchen or library or somewhere actually entertaining. “But why are you in here? Don’t you normally work until collapse?”

“Why do you care?” Tim snapped, finally looking over at Damian.

“I don’t,” Damian scoffed, shooting the teenager a scowl. Why _would_ Damian care? He wouldn’t. Obviously. He should just get up and leave.

The two of them glared at each other for a full minute before Tim finally huffed and looked back at the television. “If you must know, Bruce took away my electronics.”

“Are you being punished?” Damian asked, curiosity peaked. The idea of Father punishing someone other than him with the pathetic measures he usually employed against Damian was amusing.

“Basically,” Tim whined, “he says I don’t get enough sleep so he took it all as an incentive, because he’s one to talk. It’s so stupid. If I could sleep, I would. My phone has nothing to do with it.”

Damian hummed as he pulled his legs up onto the chair. He watched for a few minutes as people with laser swords fought each other. Laser. Swords.

It was actually really cool. A laser sword would be amazing for assassins. Not that Damian was an assassin. Not anymore.

But he would have enjoyed a laser sword when he was one.

“What are you watching?” Damian finally asked, pulling the pillow out from behind him and settling it against the armrest to lean on.

“It’s Star Wars,” Tim said incredulously, “Don’t tell me you’ve never seen Star Wars.”

Damian shook his head and repositioned so his head was resting on the pillow, the rest of his body curled up into the chair. “This is what you are always referencing?”

“Oh my god,” Tim muttered as he sat up and grabbed the remote, “I can’t believe this.” Damian watched as the teen pressed back until the film was at the beginning of the first chapter. “Pay attention, brat, you’re in for a treat.”

 

“I want a laser sword,” Damian said a while later, mesmerized by the film.

“Call it a laser sword again,” Tim said, amusement clear in his voice, “Bruce would have a heart attack if you got a lightsaber.”

“It’s not like I’d kill anyone with it,” Damian pouted.

“No, you’d just finish destroying the gardens.”

“I apologized for that,” Damian snapped, “Stop bringing it up.”

Tim laughed and refocused his attention on the movie. The movie he just watched once through before Damian joined him. Why was he doing this?

Damian decided not to ask.

 

"So," Tim said conversationally, "why are you up?"

"None of your business, Drake," Damian responded coldly. He had no interest in sharing his reasoning with the likes of Drake. He'd likely use it as fodder against Damian.

Tim hummed and said, "Nightmares, huh?"

Damian scowled.  "Shut up. I am not a child who suffers from nightmares."

"I get it," Drake said, nodding, "I get them, too. Kinda comes with the territory."

"Tt," the younger brother huffed, "Of course you do, you’re weak like that."

"You know," Tim said, shifting a little on the couch so he could look over at Damian a bit easier, "Bruce wouldn’t be upset if you woke him."

"Why would I need to wake my father," Damian drawled, pulling his hoody down over his knees.  It was actually pretty cold in the den.  He wished he had brought his blanket, after all.  

"He also wouldn’t tell anyone it had happened," Tim said, ignoring Damian's comments, like he always did.  

"I am not a child, Drake."  Damian going to his father over nightmares was a daunting endeavor.  Even if it were true, and the man would understand and not speak about it to anyone,  _he_ would still know.   _Father_ would know Damian couldn't handle nightmares.  

Tim shrugged.  "There’s nothing wrong with being a kid. And Bruce is used to his sons waking him up over nightmares.  We've all done it.  Hell, I did it a few weeks ago.  I know Jason did it until he died, and Dick would probably still do it if he lived here."

"Be quiet," Damian snapped, "I am trying to watch this."  He didn't want to think about it.  All he wanted to do was watch the laser- lightsaber fights and forget about his dream.  

 

“If you like this,” Tim said about half way through, when Damian was particularly entranced by the film, “There are seven others we could watch in the series. Not tonight, obviously, but eventually.”

“Yeah,” Damian agreed, not even looking away from the screen, “maybe.”

 

When Damian woke somewhere near noon, he found himself still curled up in the armchair, a blanket he never retrieved tucked around him.

He sat up and rubbed at his eyes. Tim was nowhere to be seen and the television was off. He’d have to ask Tim which film it was they’d watched, so he could finish the rest of it. He had fallen asleep before the conclusion. And perhaps he’d take the teen up on his offer to watch the rest of the films.

Next time he might go to his father over nightmares.  Or he might seek out the company of his older brother again.  If the teen was going to be awake anyway, Damian supposed.  

That was an acceptable way to spend a sleepless night.  

**Author's Note:**

> How did I turn a whump prompt into fluff? No idea. :D
> 
> I feel like Tim would be a Star Wars nerd and turn to the movie for comfort in the middle of the night.


End file.
